Hi all,

I am looking for links to suitable reading material on 'Academic Paper Writing'... specifically with directions on short-form (6 page papers) in contrast to full-length papers.

Help would be very much appreciated.

Regards, diaw...

A lot will depend on where you're submitting it.

Professional societies (ASME, AIChE, AIAA, etc) will have guide lines for format, right down to the font, footnote style, etc. The formats may be different for meeting proceedings than for journals. Check the web site for the meeting/organization/journal that you're interested in.

As to style and such, take a look at some of the examples already in print.

Take a look on the OpenCourse site from MIT. There is a topic on writing communication

Thanks folks...

I am really trying to develop a decent framework for designing & planning future papers. It appears that every Conference organiser & his dog have different opinions on format & content balance.

For instance, an A4, single column width paper format seems to contain less information than an A4 two-column format.

On a 6-page paper, for instance, just the list of refeences can take 1/2 a page... the header of the first page arou1/4 page... you soon start to run into difficulties especially when a reviewer insists on a detailed methodology... not much space left after the governing equations & model diagram have been installed... what then if you need to insert a list of nomenclature?

I am hoping to unearth some 'hidden gems' which can make this task a little simpler... & more systematic...

Regards, diaw...

I guess it gets a lot easier once you have successfully submitted your first paper. Just keep the format and fill in the new content for following papers. Some organizations will even provide you with the format (usually Latex or Word). Just check their websites.You may also ask friends who have previously submitted to the same journal/conference, and can give you the format they used.

Thanks Mani,

The problem I have been coming up against recently is that of submitting papers to conferences - particularly in Asia. The typical format has been a simple, single column, 6 page A4 format - font size New Times 11 - headers & footers are around 2 inches. For the type of complex CFD simulation research work I am performing, there is really not enough space to go into deep detail in each major section - Abstract, introduction,methodology, results, dicsussion, notation, references & of course decent graphic results.

There seems to be no real reference standard, as far as I can see, on how to correctly apportion the percentage breakdown of the paper. Some reviewers insist on a detailed methodology section. All very well & good, but to do it justice, this consumes at least 2-3 pages, in my case.

Remember, the overheads are already as follows: Title & authors' details ~ 1/4 page; Abstract - 1/4 page Notation - 1/4 page References - 1/2 page

... in other words, 1 1/4 pages for pure 'overhead' already. Perhpas you can see where my dilemma lies.

I would be grateful if someone could point me towards some good Conference reference papers as benchmark examples. I could then set my mind to absorb the paradigm shift I obviously need.

The other alternative is to ignore Conference Papers altogether & go directly to the journals, where space is more realistic, at least in terms of my current research...

diaw...

Thanks indeed Guillaume,

This is thje most amazing concept I have ever come across... Oh, how wonderfully the world is opening up...

diaw...

Just because the reviewers ask doesn't mean their requests are reasonable - especially for only 6 pages.

The session organizere also needs to fill his slots with presenters - and the conference organizers need to fill the rooms in the meeting hotels!

If you have a good reason NOT to provide all the detail, the session organizer may well over-rule the reviewer. But he or she may also reject your paper!

Good luck.

I see. So the problem is not the format, but how to fit your content into limited space. I am not sure anyone can help you with that, not knowing by how much you can reduce your writing without suppressing significant information. Try to first reduce each section to its absolute minimum, and then add important things as long as the space allows. You might want to reference your earlier papers instead of detailed descriptions, if there is any material that has been presented before, like the description of your numerical method or things like that. I think whatever the space is, you can always make it work. The minimum would be a technical note.

>For the type of complex CFD simulation research work I
:am performing, there is really not enough space to go
:into deep detail in each major section - Abstract,
:introduction,methodology, results, dicsussion,
:notation, references & of course decent graphic
:results. I understand. You shouldn't get into detail everywhere. Not just because there's not enough space. Consider this: Most professionals will read your abstract first, then read your conclusions, and if interested, browse through the rest. Make sure abstract and conclusions are excellent and concise, don't let your intro be too elaborate, and focus on very few cases in your results section, providing just enough detail to support your conclusions and make your point.

In my experience, short papers tend to be better than large ones, because they tend to be more focused.

Mani, Thanks very much for your wisdom... It is very helpful...

Regards, diaw...